Refer to a table in word

In the formula you can use a cell address to refer to a cell. A cell address format for the Word
table is the same as in Excel:

• Columns are named as A, B, C, etc.
• Rows are named as 1, 2, 3, etc.:

See
How to add, subtract, multiply and divide cells in a Word table
for more details.

So, when you create a formula, you can use a cell address as a name of column plus name of its row.
For example:

• a cell in the first column and the second row has an address A2,
• a cell in the third column and the third row has an address C3.

Attention!

1. Be very careful, if you have merged cells:
   • The merged cells of one row change the column numbers for other cells.
   • The merged cells of one column don’t change the row number for other cells:

   

   For example:

   

   In this example, there are two different tables to show formulas of calculating sum of
   entire column, the value of cell B4 is zero (0) because this cell is missed.

   We strongly recommend avoiding merged cells!

2. Be very careful with values in the table. All formulas and functions work only with numbers.
   So, you can’t use in cells that used in formulas any character except:
   • Digits (0-9),
   • Decimal symbol (can be a decimal point or a comma),
   • Digit grouping symbol (can be a comma or a decimal point),
   • Negative number symbol (usually -).

   You can’t use the currency symbols or separate numbers by spaces, etc.

   See
   How to see or change decimal symbol and digit grouping symbol in Windows 10.

See also this tip in French:
Comment référencer une cellule d’un tableau Word.

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Based on a Writing Tip I wrote for my work colleagues. Warning: LONG! as there are different instructions for each type of cross-reference.

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In many of the Word documents you write, you may need to refer the reader to another section, an appendix, a table, or a figure, or numbered reference in a References list. You do this with a cross-reference (e.g. ‘see Table 5-2’). Although you can just type the cross-reference (x-ref), if you add more sections/tables/figures etc. or delete some, then some or all of your typed x-refs will be incorrect and take the reader to the wrong place.

The solution is to use automated x-refs.

That way, when you add/move/delete sections/tables/figures etc., you just need to update the fields in your document to automatically update the x-ref numbers to reflect the new numbering of these elements. The other advantage of automated x-refs is that they are clickable in the Word document (Ctrl+click) and sometimes in PDFs (depending on the Acrobat settings) – in both cases, clicking the link will take you straight to the place referred to.

Assumptions: All the instructions below assume you are working in a document that is based on a template that uses:

• automatic outline numbering for the sections (e.g. Section 5.3.2) and appendices
• automatic caption numbering for the table/figure captions (e.g. Table 2-3)
• automatic list numbering for the items in the References list (assuming you have a manual list of numbered References).

The instructions vary a little for each type of cross-reference—figure/table, section, appendix, numbered References list item. However, for each you will start with the References tab > Captions group > Cross-reference button:

Insert an automated cross-reference to a figure or table

1. Place your cursor in the text where you want to insert the cross-reference.
2. Go to the References tab > Captions group, then click Cross-reference.
3. In the Reference type field, click the drop-down arrow and select either Figure or Table (they’re at the bottom of the list).
4. In the Insert reference to field, click the drop-down arrow and select Only label and number.
5. Select the figure or table from the list in the lower half of the dialog box.
6. Click Insert.

Insert an automated cross-reference to a section

1. Place your cursor in the text where you want to insert the cross-reference.
2. Type the word ‘Section’ and a space.
3. Go to the References tab > Captions group, then click Cross-reference.
4. In the Reference type field, click the drop-down arrow and select Heading.
5. In the Insert reference to field, click the drop-down arrow and select Heading number (no context).
6. Select the section from the list in the lower half of the dialog box. Hint: If it’s a long list, type the main section number – e.g. type 8 to take you straight to headings starting with ‘8’.
7. Click Insert.

Insert an automated cross-reference to an appendix

1. Place your cursor in the text where you want to insert the cross-reference.
2. Go to the References tab > Captions group, then click Cross-reference.
3. In the Reference type field, click the drop-down arrow and select Numbered item (first in the list).
4. In the Insert reference to field, click the drop-down arrow and select Paragraph number (no context).
5. Select the appendix from the list in the lower half of the dialog box. Hint: Appendices are always listed at the END of the list, so you might have to scroll down a long way.
6. Click Insert.

Insert an automated cross-reference to an auto-numbered Reference list item in a citation

1. Go to the References section, note its section number (e.g. 9.0), then identify the row number in the References list for the document you want to cite (e.g. row number 23).
2. Place your cursor in the text where you want to insert the cross-reference.
3. Type ‘(Ref. )’; make sure you add a non-breaking space (Ctrl+Shift+spacebar) after the full stop, then put your cursor after the space and before the closing parenthesis.
4. Go to the References tab > Captions group, then click Cross-reference.
5. In the Reference type field, click the drop-down arrow and select Numbered item (first in the list).
6. In the Insert reference to field, click the drop-down arrow and select Paragraph number (no context).
7. Go to the References section (e.g. 9.0)  in the lower half of the dialog box.
8. Scroll down the list of numbers after the section number/heading and select the number of the row you identified in Step 1.
9. Click Insert.

What happens to the x-ref numbers if I’ve added new tables/figures/sections etc.? How do I update them?

When you add a new section, table/figure, appendix etc. Word automatically applies the correct sequential number for where you’ve placed it. If you move an existing section or appendix, these heading numbers will change automatically too. But tables and figures and all the x-refs DON’T change their numbers until you update all the fields in your document.

Although there are several ways to update all the fields (and therefore the automated numbers), the quickest, simplest, and most foolproof way is to switch to Print Preview mode, then switch back—almost all your numbers automatically update:

1. IMPORTANT: Make sure Track Changes is turned OFF. Weird things happen if track changes is on, including possibly losing your x-refs!
2. Go to File > Print. The print preview of your document shows on the right.
3. Go back to the Home All your fields are updated automatically.

That’s it!

However, this method doesn’t update your table of contents, list of tables, list of figures, etc.—you have to do those separately using the applicable Update Table buttons on the References tab, or use the method below.

To update EVERYTHING in your document at once:

1. IMPORTANT: Make sure Track Changes is turned OFF.
2. Select the entire document (Ctrl+A).
3. Right-click on the selection and select Update Field.
4. When asked about updating the table of contents etc. select Update entire table and click OK. You may have to answer this several times for each contents list.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 once more to be sure you got everything. Sometimes, the first update will update the numbers for moved figures/tables etc. but not the x-refs too—to be certain you update the x-refs, repeat these steps a second time.

TROUBLESHOOTING

What does ‘Error! Reference not found.’ mean?

You’ll get ‘Error! Reference not found.’ for any x-refs that have nothing to point (refer) to. The most common reason for these error messages is that you’ve deleted a section heading (or a figure/table caption) without realizing that there was a x-ref to it somewhere else in the document. Behind the scenes, Word has unique ID numbers for each x-ref that refers to specific sections, tables, etc. So if you delete the section heading/caption but not the x-ref, Word loses the connection between the two when the fields are updated, and so reports ‘Error! Reference not found.’. The only simple solutions are to:

• delete the message if the table etc. has been deleted, OR
• replace the message by creating a new x-ref to the correct place.

What about Section 0?

If you notice some ‘Section 0’ x-refs after you update the fields, there’s a good chance you inserted a new paragraph by pressing Enter at the beginning of an existing section heading and then changed the style of the new paragraph. This screws up the internal IDs. Best practice is to insert a new paragraph at the END of the previous paragraph by pressing Enter. For detailed information on this problem and various methods of solving it, see: http://www.thedoctools.com/demos/demo_crossref_2.html

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See also:

• https://cybertext.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/message-to-microsoft-fix-words-cross-reference-dialog-box/

[Links last checked August 2014]

Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Automatically Referencing Info Entered in a Table.

Kees has a table in a Word document. (This is a Word table, not an Excel table.) If he types a word in cell A1 he would like that word to automatically appear in cell E6 or, possibly, in a cell in an entirely different table.

There is no way, within Word, to have the word automatically appear in cell E6 as you type it; that is beyond the capabilities of the program. However, you could make sure that whatever is in cell A1 is duplicated in cell E6 by relying on bookmarks:

1. Select the word in cell A1. (Don’t include the end-of-cell marker; just select the word itself.)
2. Press Shift+Ctrl+F5. Word displays the Bookmark dialog box. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The Bookmark dialog box.

3. Enter a name for your bookmark, such as FirstWord (note that there are no spaces in the name).
4. Click on Add. Word Adds the bookmark.
5. Move to cell E6 or whatever cell you want to have the word appear.
6. Insert a field by pressing Ctrl+F9.
7. Within the field, type REF FirstWord (if you created a bookmark with a different name in step 4, use that name instead of FirstWord).
8. Press F9 to update the field.

Remember that fields are automatically updated when you print your document or when you manually update them (as described in other issues of WordTips). You should also understand that if someone modifies the text in cell A1, that it is possible the bookmark you defined in step 4 will be deleted. If this happens, the only solution is to recreate the bookmark.

Author Bio

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen…